This is an application under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India in which the petitioner - Company has prayed for Issuance of an appropriate writ quashing the order dated the 18th January, 1977 (Annexure 4) passed by the Presiding Officer, Labour Court Board (respondent No. 1) in a proceeding Under Section 26 of the Bihar Shops and Establishment Act, 1953 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Shops Act'). Further prayer made is for a direction to respondent no. 1 to dispose of the preliminary objection raised by the petitioner going to the root of the Labour Court's jurisdiction before calling upon the petitioner to adduce evidence on merits of the case.

2. The facts are not much in controversy. On the 30th November, 1960 Sri Rajnath Mishra (respondent no. 2) was appointed as a clerk in the Service Department of the Automobile Division of the petitioner Company. His duties normally were to maintain the relevant vehicle Data, vehicle Cards etc, and to prepare internal warrants for such vehicles. On the 6th of February, 1971 and 12th of February 1971 charge-sheets were served on respondent no. 2 framing certain charges against him, copies whereof have been marked Annexures 'A' and 'B' to the counter affidavit respectively. It is alleged by the petitioner that after holding of a due domestic enquiry, an order was passed by the Management of the Petitioner-Company on the 14th of April, 1972 dismissing respondent no. 2 from service with effect from the 13th of February, 1971. A copy of the said order has been marked Annexure 6 to this application. On the 29th of August, 1973 respondent no. 2 filed a petition of complaint under section 26 of the Shops Act, a copy whereof has been marked Annexure 7. On the 17th of November, 1973 the Management of the petitioner Company filed an application before the Presiding Officer, Labourt Court, Jamshedpur before whom the complaint had been initially filed, raising preliminary objection to the maintainability of the complaint under section 26 of the Shops Act. A copy of that application has been marked ANNEXURE 1'. The preliminary objection raised by the petitioner was that the Labour Court had no jurisdiction to maintain the application under section 26 of the Shops Act, as respondent no. 2 was not an employee within the meaning of Section 2 (4) of the Shops Act, nor was the petitioner Company an Establishment within the meaning of Section 2 (6) of the Shops Act. It was alleged in the objection that respondent no. 2 was a “Worker” within the meaning of the Factories Act, 1948 (Act 63 of 1948 and as such was not covered by the term 'employee' within the meaning of the Shops Act. It was contended that respondent no. 2 being a worker within the meaning of the Factories Act, the provisions of the Shops Act, were not at all applicable and that the complaint before the Labour Court was, there fore, wholly misconceived and the Labour Court had no jurisdiction to Act, in the matter under the Provisions of the Shops Act.

3. On the 28th of December, 1973 the Labour Court passed an order to the effect that the arguments relating to the hearing of the preliminary objections were heard. A copy of that order has been marked Annexure 2 to this application. On the 18th of January, 1974 both the parties were directed to adduce evidence and advance arguments on the merits of the preliminary objection. A copy of the said order dated the 18th of January, 1974 has been marked as Annexure 8 to the Supplementary affidavit tiled by the petitioner on the 27th of September, 1977. On, the same date that is, 18th of January, 1974 the Presiding Officer, labour Court Jamshedpur again passed an order to the effect that the petitioner should file its show cause by the 7th of February. 1974 and that on that very date both the parties must adduce evidence and advance arguments on the preliminary issues. It seems, the matter remained pending for one reason or the other for a long time. Ultimately, on the 19th of